Death (IDW)
Not to be confused with Death Death is an entity widely regarded as the personification of death. History According to Russian folklore, Death was among a hellish horde released by Vigo to end a war in Russia. The Undying Soldier used his Mystical Sack to trap Death. The soldier was invincible and drove back the rest of the horde. However, as the soldier lived on, he became terribly ill. The soldier asked Death to take him to the next life when he released it. Death refused and cursed him for trapping him. The soldier wandered the earth ever sick and unable to die. In mid-September 1912, John Horace Tobin saw Death as it hovered above the corpse of The Undying Soldier in his tower. Amid the silence only one word was heard, "Death." Sometime in the 1970s, Death appeared to Eugene Visitor after he was hit by a car. Eugene recalled a paper he wrote on Russian folklore and ordered Death into his bag. Death complied and Eugene vanished without a trace. Eugene reappeared 20 years later where Egon Spengler was dealing with a sustained spike in the ambient psychokinetic energy field. Egon believed the absence of the entity was the source of the extra spiritual energy. If Death was not released, Egon believed it would have a catastrophic effect on the physical plane... a breach between Earth and the Other Side. Eugene refused to release Death and demanded concrete proof first before even considering it. In November, the Megaspook event convinced Eugene to release Death. It sensed the Megaspook and teleported straight to Herald Square. As the Megaspook cowered, Death simply stated, "Mine" and rammed into the ghost. A flash of white light enveloped the area. Death and the Megaspook were gone. Not one to hold a grudge, Death allowed Eugene to say goodbye to Egon before he was dispersed. With Death free, Egon predicted ambient P.K.E. levels would return to normal levels shortly. After Egon was killed by Loftur Þorsteinsson then resurrected by Aibell, Death had to come to a decision. Death ruled that Egon wasn't supposed to have survived and set his full attention on him. TomWaltz Tweet 6/21/18Virtual Trading Card reads: "Some time later, Egon was killed by an immortal warlock and resurrected by an Irish faerie. (These things happen when you work with the paranormal) and Death had to decide what he would do about it. Egon wasn't supposed to survive, he decided. Death is now giving Egon his full attention. Will the Ghostbusters have to zap and trap the Grim Reaper himself, or is there another option...?" Death teleported to Dimension 75-B. He waited along the path into the Helsingor Brewery. Alan Crendall charged forward but was blown back past the gates. Death appeared to the field team of Ghostbusters and declared they shall not pass. Eduardo Rivera of Dimension 68-E thought he was the character Gandalf from "Lord of the Rings". Egon immediately recognized Death. Abby Yates of Dimension 80-C couldn't believe Death might be the ghost they were after and questioned what would happen if it was trapped then declared it couldn't be personified. Winston Zeddemore disagreed and reminded her he told her team that Death was trapped in a backpack. Before Abby could retort, Egon tried to explain to it they were in the middle of rectifying an error. Death replied he was, too, and revealed he concluded Egon was not meant to be resurrected. But to show gratitude for their part in helping free him from Eugene, Death proposed to repay the favor with a game of chess. Egon thought that was an affectation of the movies. Death admitted it was and the concept amused him.Death (2018). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4" (2018) (Comic p.9). Death says: "Oh, it was. The concept amused me." Egon asked if accepting his challenge would allow his colleagues to continue into the brewery and recapture some escaped ghosts. Death confirmed. Egon accepted but he was blocked from pulling out a chair. Death explained accepting the challenge didn't mean he would be the one playing. Death chose Eduardo instead. Eduardo took his time. Death told him to make a move. Eduardo pointed out no punch clocks were conjured and he should be able to take as much time since someone else's soul was at stake. He added he really wanted to check out the brewery and had no problem with being slow if that irked Death. Death screamed at him. Eduardo moved Queen's pawn to D4 and told Death not to have a cow. Death admitted Eduardo was a better player than he expected but played without discipline. Eduardo retorted he wasn't the impatient one. Death began playing mind games, telling him he wasn't going to win and the game was merely a courtesy because Egon shouldn't have returned. Eduardo countered if things didn't return all the time, there wouldn't be any ghosts to get busted. Death called check. Eduardo wished he went into the brewery. Egon stopped mid-sentence, clutched his chest, and collapsed inside the brewery. Death told Eduardo it was his move and it could well be his last. Abby confirmed Egon was still alive but his heart beats were far apart. After the Fire Goblins were recaptured, Winston was determined to make sure Egon stayed alive. Egon started to regain consciousness as Winston and Abby walked him outside. Egon stated his spirit felt like a kite tethered to his body by the thinnest of strings and the wind was blowing very hard. Abby teased him about getting so poetic but was glad he was back. Alan speculated the reason was because Eduardo made the right move against Death. Abby wondering if blasting Death in the middle of the game would be considered a forfeiture. Alan noticed Eduardo was smiling. Eduardo declared checkmate. Death smashed the table in anger. Abby thought Death was supposed to be better at chess than that. Egon explained he was emulating a movie and in that story, Death only won because he cheated and tricked his opponent into giving away his strategy. Death decided he was going to reap everyone. Abby reacted quickly and trapped him. Egon blasted the Trap-Gate apart before it transported Death into the Containment Unit. He explained trapping Death was going to create a spectral bottleneck and influence a massive P.K.E. surge. Egon realized it would be chaos and they were being manipulated by Tiamat. He opened a portal but Death suddenly dispersed it by slicing it in half with his sickle. Unable to trap him or disperse him, Winston Zeddemore of Dimension 68-R and Winston saw only one choice. They opened fire and wrangled Death to keep him immobile while Egon opened another portal. Egon warned them they would have a fraction of a second to escape Death once they released him. Winston joked it was a good thing they kept in shape. After all the others went through, Egon called out to them. Winston noticed his counterpart was running away faster. Winston 68-R retorted he was in better shape. Death broke through the Proton Streams but the Ghostbusters were gone. He admitted they won but vowed he would see them all again eventually then teleported away. Personality Death is not a mindless entity driven by emotion or tasks. Death possesses intelligence and is calculating. Rather than simply reap Egon's soul and leave, Death chose to also repay the Ghostbusters for helping secure his freedom by proposing a game of chess to decide Egon's fate. Powers Egon believes Death has the power to siphon excess P.K.E. from this dimensional plane. Death had to power to disperse even the Megaspook with one blow and demonstrated the power to travel vast distances in seconds, teleporting from Belleville, New Jersey to Herald Square, New York within seconds. Death can also traverse the multiverse, materialize physical objects, use telekinesis, and has the ability to close interdimensional portals by cleaving them with its sickle. Development Tristan Jones initially planned on exploring more of the science behind Death and the sack but ran out of pages. Jones notes he views Death as a "particularly nasty kind of spirit. Something akin to the Dementors in Harry Potter" and has an idea to expand on psychopomp creatures. Tristan Jones post Ghostbusters Fans 4/23/12 Some beliefs posit Death as merely a psychopomp who functions only to sever the last ties between the soul and the body and to guide the deceased to the next world. He has no control over the victim's death. Trivia *On page nine of Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #9, a photo of Death is on Egon's board marked "Unknown Class" *On the Convention Cover of Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #1, Death makes a cameo left of the Get Real logo. *On page one of Ghostbusters International #1, the illustration on the Death tarot card naturally resembles Death. Ray then talked about the misconceptions and true meaning of the Death card. *On June 21, 2018, Tom Waltz posted Crossing Over Virtual Trading Card #36, Death. TomWaltz Tweet 6/21/18 *On page 7 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4, Eduardo mistakes Death for Gandalf based on the use of his popular phrase "You shall not pass!" in "Lord of the Rings". *On page 8 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4, there are several nods to the movie "The Seventh Seal".erikburnham Tweet 7/4/18 **The black and white format. **The design of Death's sickle. **Death selecting chess as a challenge against its target, promising prolonged life if he won. **In the movie itself, Death's focus was on a character played by Max Von Sydow who later portrayed Vigo in Ghostbusters II. *On page 8 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #5, the chess pieces are based on the ones used by Death in "The Seventh Seal". *On page 13 of Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7, Egon alludes to "The Seventh Seal" and several details of the movie. Appearances IDW Comics *Ongoing Series **Issue #8 ***"The Man Who Holds the Hands of Death" ***"The Man Who Sought Death" **Issue #15 *Ghostbusters 101 **Issue #4 ***Mentioned on page 15 by Winston Zeddemore and Patty Tolan Winston Zeddemore (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters 101 #4" (2017) (Comic p.15). Winston Zeddemore says: "Uh... the Grim Reaper showed up and took the thing out." Patty Tolan (2017). IDW Comics- "Ghostbusters 101 #4" (2017) (Comic p.15). Patty Tolan says: "The Grim Reaper? The real Grim Reaper? So you got him on speed dial, or..." *Ghostbusters Crossing Over **Issue #4 **Issue #5 **Issue #6 **Issue #7 See Also *Death References Gallery DeathIDWIssue8Cover.jpg|As seen on Ghostbusters Volume 1 Issue #8 Cover A DeathItself01.jpg|As seen in Volume 1 Issue #8 "The Man Who Holds the Hands of Death" DeathIDW11.jpg|Captured in Volume 1 Issue #8 "The Man Who Holds the Hands of Death" DeathItself02.jpg|As seen in Volume 1 Issue #8 "The Man Who Sought Death" DeathItself03.jpg|As seen in Volume 1 Issue #8 "The Man Who Sought Death" DeathItself04.jpg|As seen in Volume 1 Issue #8 "The Man Who Sought Death" DeathIDW05.jpg|Released by Eugene in Volume 1 Issue #15 DeathIDW06.jpg|As seen in Volume 1 Issue #15 DeathIDW07.jpg|As seen in Volume 1 Issue #15 DeathIDW08.jpg|As seen in Volume 1 Issue #15 DeathIDW09.jpg|As seen in Volume 1 Issue #15 BlackSlimeElementalDeathIDWVol2Issue9.jpg|Photo in Ghostbusters Volume 2 Issue #9 DeathBirdOfKildarbyIdulnasGetReal01.jpg|Cameo on Ghostbusters: Get Real Issue #1 Convention Cover DeathIDW12.jpg|Cameo on tarot card in Ghostbusters International #1 DeathIDW13.jpg|Cameo on tarot card in Ghostbusters International #1 CrossingOverVirtualTradingCardNo36Death.jpg|Crossing Over Virtual Trading Card #36 6/21/18 DeathIDW14.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4 DeathIDW15.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4 DeathIDW16.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4 DeathIDW17.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4 DeathIDW18.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4 DeathIDW19.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4 DeathIDW20.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #4 DeathIDW21.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #5 DeathIDW22.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #5 DeathIDW23.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #6 DeathIDW24.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #6 DeathIDW25.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7 DeathIDW26.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7 DeathIDW27.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7 DeathIDW28.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7 DeathIDW29.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7 DeathIDW30.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7 DeathIDW31.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7 DeathIDW32.jpg|As seen in Ghostbusters Crossing Over Issue #7 Category:Deity Category:IDW Characters Category:Legends